The Last Talisman by Licia Troisi Read Free Book Online Page B

the hell kind of knight is this kid, who doesn’t even wake when shaken?
    Sennar shook him again, this time with less grace. The boy leaped awake and his hand shot instinctually to his sword, failing to grip the handle.
    â€œRelax, it’s just me,” the sorcerer muttered impatiently.
    Aymar rubbed his eyes and took a look around. “The sun’s not even up yet …”
    Sennar put his head in his hands. “I’ve already told you, you’re only with me for three days and we need every minute we’ve got.”
    The boy blushed. “Of course, sir, pardon me.” Like a sleepwalker, he began gathering his things.
    They did everything they could to keep Nihal out, but they let this incompetent kid become a Dragon Knight without a problem?
    At last, they managed to set out. Sennar realized he’d been traveling for thirteen days now and still hadn’t reached his destination. He thought of Nihal. She must be completely healed by now, ready to get back on the road. He certainly didn’t envy Laio having to deal with her during all that down time.
    They traveled with as much haste as possible, and by some miracle, without a single hitch. By mid-morning they’d reached Lome. The city looked out over the crescent shape of the Gulf of Lamar and served as one of the city’s major ports. They were headed toward a barracks along the coast, far from the bustle of the city.
    â€œThat’s where I studied,” Aymar observed, as they drew near to the structure.
    â€œNot in Makrat?” Sennar asked.
    Aymar smiled. “We Blue Dragon Knights are part of the Order, but we do most of our training here in the Land of the Sea, in accordance with tradition.”
    Indeed, the barracks had a different shape than the Order’s usual quarters, its slender form typical of the buildings in the Land of the Sea. Years before, Blue Dragon Knights had broken off to form a separate, independent body. Only after the peace of Nammen had they rejoined the Order.
    The dragon touched down on a dirt arena at the structure’s center and then collapsed to one side. Sennar jumped down and began making his rounds of the city in search of whatever help he could find.
    He moved from one inn to the next, asking advice from whomever he met, only to return disheartened, without a shred of new information, that evening.
    He returned to the barracks, took a seat in the mess hall, and scarfed down his dinner in silence. One more day, only one day and then he would be on his own. Could they have flown past the sanctuary without knowing it? They hadn’t yet flown over the peninsula’s northern coast, and the sanctuary could just as well be there. Truth was, he was searching for a needle in a haystack.
    â€œThey’re tall and seem to glow in the moonlight.”
    He’d set his sights too high, and he’d failed.
    â€œFrom Lamar you can see them in the distance, out in the middle of the sea.”
    He’d been no help at all to Nihal. First, he could do nothing for her fever, and now he’d gone and backed himself into a hopeless corner.
    â€œWind whistles through the crevices and the sea foam sprays high into the air.”
    There was nothing he could do now but crawl his way along the coast and wait for Nihal.
    â€œAt night, from afar, they stand out like two shadows in the darkness, like two towers.”
    Sennar swung his head around. Their conversation had reached him only in bits and pieces. He wasn’t even sure what the two soldiers were talking about, but those last few words had caught his attention.
    â€œWhat were you saying looks like a tower?” he asked. Nihal had used almost the exact same words when she’d spoken of the sanctuary.
    The soldier looked at him in surprise. “The two great rocks off the coast of the Gulf of Lamar. The Sea’s Meridians. The Arshet.”
    It may just be what he was after … but then again …”